Introduction
MSI has had a good run with their budget range of motherboards and have had special success with AMD’s B450. With AMD sadly missing in action, Intel has picked up the slack in filling the budget range and it comes at a time wherein Intel is enjoying a renaissance with Alder Lake. That said, MSI’s advantage on the budget range relies on their branding mostly offering the essentials without charging extra.
With the introduction of DDR5, that is a problem in itself. DDR5 alone costs a premium but does bring in some performance and power advantage but for most people, its usually not enough. This is the fork in the road where many board decide where they lie in the DDR4 vs DDR5 debate. In the case of most partners, they either choose one and then offer another but some brand have taken it to designing boards with absolutely similar feature set but differing memory slots.
Such is the case of the MSI MAG B660M MORTAR. Available in both DDR4 and DDR5, these motherboards are exactly the same board and offers either an upgraders path or a new build path for anyone wanting to go Alder Lake. As MSI’s most popular board class, the company is offering both variants to maximize its presence while still offering their most popular motherboard.
We have both the DDR4 and DDR5 version for review. In this review, we’ll focus on the DDR5 model. These motherboards are identical to each other so the majority of the review will be shared between the two articles. Please refer to the conclusion for specific observations about each motherboard. Read on!
MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI Specifications | |
---|---|
CPU Support | Intel 12th-generation Core CPU (LGA1700) |
Power Delivery Design | 12+1 |
Chipset | Intel Z690 |
Memory Support | 4 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR5-6200 (OC) |
Expansion Slots | 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (CPU) 1x PCIe 3.0 x4 1x PCIe 3.0 x1 |
Storage Interface/s | 2x M.2 (1x CPU, 1x B660 chipset) 4x SATA 2x SATA (ASMedia ASM1061) |
Networking | Realtek 2.5GbE |
Audio | Realtek ALC1200 |
Fan Headers | 3x 4-pin 1x pump header |
Dimensions | microATX 24.4cm x 24.4cm |
Rear I/O Ports | 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port(s) (1 x USB Type-C) 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 port(s) (2 x Type-A, 1 x Type-C) 4 x USB 2.0 port(s) (4 x Type-A) 1 x DisplayPort 1 x HDMI port 1 x Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet port 5 x Audio jacks 1 x Optical S/PDIF out port |
MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI Packaging and Box Contents
MSI packages the MAG B660M Mortar in a standard, full-color box with the model name in front. At the back we have a shot of the board with the various marketing features of MSI MAG B660M Mortar WIFI.
The packaging contains documentation, a MAG Sticker set, a case badge, SATA cables, WIFI/BT antenna and a screwdriver accessory.
MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI Design and Layout
Its important to note at this point that MSI has multiple variants of this board. Aside from the DDR4 and DDR5 twin model, the non-WIFI model will have a different look featuring an all black heatsink scheme. Both WIFI models feature a silver heatsink theme to contrast the black PCB. If you prefer an all black look, you can get that with the non-WIFI version. There is also a green version with the B660M Bazooka DDR4, which as the name suggests, is only available in DDR4. The other variation will be the full-sized ATX B660 Tomahawk which both WIFI version will feature an all-black scheme. You can check out more details at MSI’s product listing here.
Back to our motherboard, both MAG B660M Mortar WIFI featuring an mATX design with ultimately the memory slot differing for both models. Other than that, the board features a full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slot along with an x1 and X4 PCIe 3.0 slots. This is adorned by a pair of M.2 slots which are covered by their own M.2 covers.
MSI’s silver theme on the heatsink seems out of place as the black heatsinks look more premium. I would’ve opted to just go for all black for all the models. The VRM heatsink connected to the IO shroud is deceptively chunky and while it doesn’t have the depth, its large mass is a nice touch and reduces the overall plastic on the board. This is complimented by the rest of the heatsink on this board, giving it a sense of quality with minimal usage of plastic shrouds.
MSI uses 12-phase SPS power stages on the MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI. These are arranged in a 6+6 configuration with extra phases for AUX and GT power. This is cooled by a large chunk on the left array while the top array is cooled by a more modest heatsink.
DDR5 supports on B660 is not as expansive as the Z690 board but is high enough that choices aren’t limited. With B660 supporting XMP 3.0, users will have the choice of going all the way to DDR5-6000 provided it plays well with this board. MSI has a quick list of recommended memory configuration for both DDR4 and DDR5 up in their product page which suggests specific configurations. For the safest route, we stuck with Kingston’s DDR5-5200 32GB kit for all our reviews of DDR5-capable motherboards. We’ll transition to ultra-fast sticks once we have DDR5-7000+ stable or better yet, tighter timings on 6000+ speeds.
MSI mATX B660 board supports a pair of x16 slot, only one of which operates electrically at true x16 for your GPU with the other one running at x4 and the remaining slot operating at x1.
A total of two M.2 slots, one Gen4 and the other lower one Gen3, is available on this board. Rounding out storage further are a total of 6 SATA slots, 2 of which are provided by an ASMedia controller. Take note that SATA slot 5~8 shares resource with M2_2 and will disable each other when populated.
MSI has a dedicated audio area for the ALC1200 audio chip on this board.
MSI goes conservative on high-speed I/O on this board but gives a full 4-port array of USB2.0 with a full complement of USB3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports and a single Type-C Gen2x2 port for 20Gbps bandwidth. The entire I/O ports are below:
- USB 2.0 Port
- DisplayPort 1.4
- USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-A
- 2.5G LAN Port
- Wi-Fi / Bluetooth Antenna
- HD Audio Connectors
- HDMI 2.1 Port
- USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20Gbps Type-C
- Optical S/PDIF OUT
BIOS Walkthrough
MSI’s UEFI BIOS has been the same since the advent of UEFI. Its a very easy interface to navigate in and has a great way of fusing Easy Mode and Advanced Mode. While Easy Mode is GUI heavy, Advanced Mode doesn’t change much but switches controls to a richer text mode interface. The experience will be pretty much the same if you understand what each menu contains but both EZ and Advanced Mode are presented in a uniform experience which keeps their appeal pretty universal.
BIOS tested is on a retail sample of this motherboard.
Test Setup and Methodology
All tests are performed in the latest version of Windows 11. For earlier reports of AMD suffering performance issues, please refer to this update published by AMD which notes that the issue has been resolved.
All systems tested use the same version of the application and no data from previous reviews are used for this test. All games are updated to their latest version and are set to details indicated in their charts. Back2Gaming prefers running games in max details with motion blur off.
Resizable BAR is enabled for all testing, when applicable
Test System: Intel 12th | |
CPU | Intel Core i9-12900K |
Motherboard | MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI (DDR5) |
RAM | Kingston FURY Beast DDR5-5200 CL40 |
GPU | ZOTAC RTX 3080 Ti AMP EXTREME |
Storage | KLEVV CRAS 920 2TB M.2 NVMe |
Cooling | NZXT Kraken X73 RGB |
Power Supply | FSPÂ HydroG Pro 1000w |
Special thanks to MSI, Kingston, FSP and ZOTAC for the hardware used in this test. Special thanks to Cybenetics Labs, NVIDIA, PassMark ,OCCT and CapFrameX for the testing equipment and software we use in this review.
All testing for motherboards are done with XMP enabled (DDR5-5200).
Storage and Network Interface Testing
As of this moment, I am still sourcing USB 3.2 Gen2x2 enclosures for testing so I have to forego testing on that port as well as Thunderbolt4. We do test the Intel 2.5GbE and USB3.2 Gen2 headers on this board.
We test the throughput of the primary I/O of our tested motherboard using various devices as follows:
- M.2 NVMe: KLEVV CRAS 920 2TB
- USB 3.2 Gen2: ROG STRIX Arion USB Enclosure + Kingston KC2000 1TB M.2 SSD
- SATA: SAMSUNG 870 QVO 1TB
- LAN: QNAP TS-932PX 10GbE NAS + WD Blue SSD 1TB x2 RAID0
All tests are done in Crystal DiskMark v8.
Network Throughput
M.2 and SATA Throughput
USB Throughput
Performance Testing – Synthetic
SuperPI
wPrime
Cinebench R23
Blender Benchmark
AIDA64 Memory Benchmark
3DMark
Performance Testing – Gaming
All games tested with an RTX 3080 Ti.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)
DOTA 2
Rainbow Six: Siege
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Power Draw & Temperature
For temperature testing, we use a thermal logger that capture per second readings from our VRM. Our logger captures the temperature of the VRM arrays with the left array as VRM1 and upper array as VRM2. Our 15-minute split load puts continuous load on our CPU with 5-minute in-between.
User Experience & Conclusion
The B660 platform has been a strong chipset but owing mainly to Intel’s dominant mid-market presence and lower pricing than AMD. With AMD pulling a similar strategy like Intel with their B550 board and then releasing a pricier CPU, Intel’s relatively more affordable CPU offerings in the mid-market has made their the B660 their star chipset. With many users in this segment looking to save cash, most will probably pursue DDR4 especially those coming from older DDR4 systems but with the new Alder Lake CPUs capable of running either DDR4 or DDR5, this does put users in a situation of how to upgrade.
Thankfully, MSI is one of those companies that offers variable options and while its not the combo RAM offering some may have hoped for, motherboards like the MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI and its DDR4 twin, the MSI MAG B660M MORTAR DDR4 WIFI make it a more flexible choice. The value of DDR5 isn’t for me to put into question as many users usage will vary over time but for a more simpler recommendation, if you’re looking to just game on your new Alder Lake system and don’t planning going with a new system for the next 2-3 or years, then maybe sticking with DDR4 makes more sense but for those that may use it for work, particularly memory-intensive applications, it pays to go the path of the DDR5.
With that said, its tough to really discuss anything past the usability of this motherboard. This will ring the same for my review of the DDR4 version of this board: MSI has made a decent motherboard that brings with it all the essentials without going over the top and offers it at a decent price. If there is a criticism I have to point out, MSI did cut back on features particularly PCIe Gen5 and while that’s not much of a sore point for those not looking to go bleeding edge, the DDR5 variation could’ve benefited more from it as a platform that welcomes upgrade for next-gen. Still, this will add cost so I guess MSI’s decision was to pursue more affordable pricing.
Build quality is decent enough and unless you’re really trying, you’ll be chugging along just fine on this system. Whether you’re building a gaming system or a multipurpose, work-from-home system that can do anything, the MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI does it well and should please many builders that just want an easy foundation to build their Alder Lake systems on.
MSI backs the MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI with a 3-year warranty. I give it my B2G Recommended Seal!